More COVID-19 patients report long-term symptoms

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CDC Study: More COVID-19 Patients Report Long-Term Symptoms

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people who tested positive for COVID-19 reported having long-term symptoms 1.5 times more frequently than those who have tested negative.

Almost 66% of people who tested positive for the virus reported that at least one of their symptoms related to COVID-19 lasted more than four weeks, compared to 42.9% of those who always tested negative.

The non-probability survey, conducted April 9-23 by Porter Novelli Public Services, aimed to collect a nationwide sample of U.S. adults to compare the prevalence of symptoms of COVID-19 along.

Of the 3,135 adults who responded that they had been tested for COVID-19 since January 2020, nearly 700, or 22.2% weighted, said they had already received a positive test result, compared with 2,437 who still have tested negative. Another 2,750 said they had never been tested and had not been included in the CDC’s analysis.

In total, 86.5% of those who tested positive and 61.7% of those who tested negative reported having had an initial symptom. A greater proportion of confirmed COVID-19 patients who had an initial symptom said it lasted more than four weeks than people who tested negative and had an initial symptom.

Fatigue was the most common symptom in confirmed COVID-19 patients, with 22.5% reporting it compared to 12% of those who tested negative. Respondents who tested positive also reported a higher prevalence of symptoms such as change in smell or taste, shortness of breath, cough, and headaches.

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FOLLOWING

The CDC’s Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report (MMWR) described the lengthy COVID-19 as an “emerging public health issue that is not well understood.”

Several studies have attempted to determine the percentage of COVID-19 survivors who develop long-term COVID-19, although initial results have covered a wide range. But the CDC noted that few studies of long-term COVID-19 have compared it to the population of adults who tested negative, “limiting the ability to assess the prevalence of background symptoms.”

“Estimating the population-level frequency of specific long-term symptoms among the general population and patients with SARS-CoV-2 could help healthcare professionals better understand the types and prevalence of symptoms than their patients. could feel and could help guide health systems in preparing care management strategies for patients with post-COVID conditions, ”reads the MMWR.

The agency said its investigation could help fight COVID-19 in the long term and further promote vaccinations.

Only 28.3% of people who tested positive said they had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 39.4% of people tested negative had received at least one injection. All adults were officially eligible for the vaccine on April 19.

A higher proportion of confirmed COVID-19 patients at 28.7% said they believed the vaccine improved their symptoms in the long term, compared to the 15.7% of those who tested negative.

The CDC noted that the study could not determine the accuracy of COVID-19 tests, so false positive and false negative results may have affected the results.